PAX PRIME 2011
August 26-28, 2011
Washington State Convention Center
By Gintsuki

I attended the 2011 edition of the Penny Arcade Expo on the West coast (aka PAX Prime) for the entire 3 days it was in session and managed to only go to one panel and, personally, try out one game. One might wonder how that is possible with spending over 8 hours at the convention center on a daily basis. Wear an extremely popular cosplay, that’s how. Every time I’d stop to take out my phone to text or to take a picture I had someone asking to take mine.

Cosplay: Oerba Dia Vanille
Game: FFXIII

Day by Day Play:

My first day there I spent by myself (though I did manage to run into a friend of mine). For the most part I wondered around the main exhibit hall in awe of all the massive booths and their big shiny screens showing off their games.

Firefall, developed by Red 5 Studios, was the most heavily advertised game there; banners on ALL the escalators, banners around the escalators, a statue right outside the main entrance of the exhibit hall and a massive booth set up full of PCs for people to tackle their game with. I only watched the trailer, but based on that it looks like an intriguing FPS/TPS – space themed, of course.

My favorite booths to walk past were the ones for the games created for the Microsoft XBOX Kinect; a device that requires no controllers to play. Games for this console have mainly revolved around dancing and exercise but as this year draws to an end we’re going to be able to use it to transform into a Jedi Knight, a fruit slicing ninja, and a zombie killing machine.

There were also two stages set up for people to try out Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 2, which were both very entertaining to watch. The lines for the Kinect games were relatively long, which caused some people to not have a chance to test it, but there were other things to do. I kept busy with an MSNBC interview, giving away headphones over a live stream for Turtle Beach, appearing in the crowd for the filming of the G4 X-Play PAX Prime episode (airing Wednesday, September 7th) and posing for countless pictures. I ended the day with participating in the Crabcat cosplay panel which turned out to be non-contest contest where everyone was a winner.

The second and third day I went with a friend of mine who cosplayed as Lightning which made us twice as popular. We snuck into more booths to use their photo centers where they would print your pic and email it to you, too. Gunnar had several styles of gaming glasses for you to sport while you posed for their cameras, other booths had it set up so you were “posing” with their logo or video game characters.

On the second day I became aware of the random real-life games they have going on during the event. There is a scavenger hunt with barcodes (put on by PAX), a word game with buttons(put on by Square Enix) and in the indie game area there was a station where you could get turned into a zombie by a makeup artist and then you had to “bite” other people and turn them into more zombies – all of which had some sort of prizes to be won by participating in them. My friend and I managed to get in on the word game where we collected a $25 gift certificate to their online store.

Booth babes had been banned from the event for the first time, but that didn’t stop people asking us if we had been hired to be there. Good Old Games had hired two old ladies to sit in chairs and knit between handing out freshly baked cookies as their booth “babes”. The booths relied more on creating extravagant booths to draw people in. Telltale’s Jurassic Park had a booth set up with a “high voltage” fence with foliage and jeep mixed with their console stations. Bethesda’s Skyrim had a massive dragon hanging over their area while Trion World’s Rift booth took you to another world with towering, glowing foreign foliage.

Besides stopping for photos, on the second day we succeeded in the EVGA cosplay contest which was whittled down to the top ten and were snagged up for two interviews with random Podcasters and a mod-hosting website.

On the third day a worker at the Nintendo 3DS station managed to tempt me to try an available console. I drooled over Zelda in 3D while I had photographers stepping in to take my picture. I got a lot of my personal questions answered about the Nintendo 3DS and am now considering buying one. It comes equipped with this really awesome feature called “augmented reality” where you simply point the console at a card that you can sit anywhere and the card turns into a 3D interactive shooting game. We spent the majority of the third day out on the Sky Bridge where Turtle Beach grabbed me to say “hi” on their live stream, again, and we meet and posed with a lot of fellow cosplayers. It was nice not to walk around so much, especially since we had done nothing but walk the previous day.

As we were leaving the Exhibit Hall on the final day a local major newspaper (The Seattle P.I.) snapped a pictured of me which ended up being featured in their online gallery. We’re also in official PAX Prime Cosplay galleries for G4, The Escapist, Square Enix, Gamers Radar as well as a Post-PAX cosplay contest put on by Nerd Trek.

Overview:

All-in-all, PAX is a really fun expo to attend. Every day offers something different, whether or not you’re attending their many panels. The most cosplayed characters were Moogles, Portal 2, Halo and League of Legends, though my personal favorite was the duo dressed as Clayman and Hoborg from Neverhood. As a cosplayer, it was a bit unorganized – all contests were discovered by hear-say (the information center knew nothing about them) and there were no photo sessions held; at least that I managed to “get wind of.” There are lots of lines; for both panels and games, so it’s best to wait until the late afternoon/ evening to try to play something because there are less people hanging around then-especially the first night for some reason. Watching games is just as enjoyable to me as playing them and the ample amount of TVs showing off live game play, mixed with the larger than life booths, kept my eyes entertained. Everyone I talked to was really nice and friendly, but there were definitely your shy nerds just there to get their game on, who avoided even eye contact.

And now, for the ultimate question:

Would I attend another PAX?

Hell, yes.

Anime Boston Report
Hynes Convention Center
April 22-24, 2011
Knightfall

DAY 01: Friday

The first thing of any anime convention is the registration, and Anime Boston was no different. Upon entering the Hynes, guests found themselves in a terrific atmosphere. It was big, clean, had three floors with much to look at, and an awesome view of Boston. The days attended were Friday and Sunday this year.

As guests streamed into the large entrance hall, there was a surprising number already in cosplay. Not to mention pretty decent ones at that. Many were pulled to the side for some photo shooting. Everyone there seemed to already be having fun.

At Opening Ceremonies Andrea Finnin, the Chairman of the convention spoke. Gifts were thrown into the crowd, so even though some guests didn’t get great seats, they still got something out of it. There were announcements on some of the recent events in Japan: the passing of a few producers and VAs, the earthquakes/tsunami that took place the month before, and the events they were holding to help out in the relief effort (ie- the blood drive [hosted by the 501st!!], charity auctions, etc.)

Next was the introduction of the Guests of Honor. Anime Boston had a good line-up, and all of the guests were enthusiastic. Among the musical guests was the all-girl band Stereopony, better known among most for the OPs/EDs in such anime as Bleach, Darker Than Black, and Gundam 00. Among the VAs were Sean Schemmel, AKA the voice of Goku, and Greg Ayres, better known as Koyuki in Beck or Yamazaki from N.H.K. A full guest list is included at the end of this article.

All guests got ‘swag bags’ that included a map and schedule. This was good, because with all of the halls, and escalators, and rooms, it would be easy for someone to get lost.

In the dealers room, many seemed overwhelmed. They might have never seen so many anime/game related merchandise, all in the same room. Those that had been to an anime convention before might not have been surprised, and would know to wait until Sunday to make their purchases, as some dealers frequently have items marked 50% off. Make sure you ask the vendors specifically though, as the item you might have your eye on could very well be gone by the end of the weekend, and might not even be discounted then.

All the walking guests must do can be hard on the legs and feet, but the perfect place to take a break was in any of the rooms where panels were hosted. There guests could sit through talks about the history of anime/otaku, or the VA panels and listen to them talk about their lives and how they came to be voice actors. These panels were not only educational, but entertaining as well.

The VAs all had a good sense of humor, and were very approachable. One of the things Michael Tatum talked about was how he was “scouted” to be a VA by one of his friends. He shared how his friend kept pushing and pushing for him to audition, up to the point where he was “threatened” to do it “or else”. He finally went for the audition. The recording session ended up taking 4 hours. Here Tatum thought he was failing miserably as he was being instructed on how to project his voice. After the recording was finally over, Tatum asked his friend “Does it usually take this long for auditions, or am I just that bad?” His friend responded with “Oh no, it usually takes about 15 minutes, you scored the job in the first 5, and they now finished dubbing the first 6 episodes. Congratulations, you’re now a voice actor!”. The panels allowed a lot of insight for fans in how their favorite shows are put together.

DAY 03: Sunday

The last day of the Anime Boston 2011 had come. There was an hour gap between the opening and the main event, which gave time for everyone to mingle, and for lots of cosplay pictures. Cosplay Chess was one of the most popular events, and this year’s theme was magic vs science.

The first contestant playing for Team Magic was none other than Link (The Legend of Zelda), accompanied by the infamous ‘annoying fairy’, Navi “Hey! Hey listen!”. And playing for team science, the oh so well known scientist, Pokémon’s, Professor Oak! Seated across from each other they called the cosplayers who represented each chess piece to come out onto the battlefield. Among the characters of team magic were Sebastian Michaelis(Kuroshitsuji), Vivi Orunitia(Final Fantasy), and playing as king, England of Hetalia. As for team science, a few of their Chess Pieces were Edward Elric(Fullmetal Alchemist), Little Sister(Bioshock), and playing as King, America also of Hetalia. It was a fierce battle of brains and brawn…plus anime and game references/memes galore. Every time a piece was captured, the corresponding cosplayers would act out the battle. The end result being team science as the victors (of course). It was entertaining, to say the least.

Not as many panels were open on Sunday as there were on Friday or Saturday, but there was still plenty to do.

And so began the beginning of the end. The time for the closing ceremonies had come. Anime Boston staff did a decent job wrapping things up. All of the guests were called on stage for the farewell, and credit was given to all of the people working behind the scenes. The staff credits were then displayed on the screen while playing Portal – Victims of Science – The Device Has Been Modified. The hosts tried to convince the guests that it was all over, but no one bought it. They still had the results of the AMV contests left. They showed the winning AMV’s to the crowd’s delight, and after they were done, it was time to head home.

There were so many things for guests to see and do, that any single person could go for a week, and still not see it all. This anime convention is one that makes you want to keep coming back.

-All hail Britannia!!-

As promised, the full guest line-up.

Japanese Guests
*girugamesh
*STEREOPONY

Voice Acting Guests
* Brina Palencia
* Christopher Ayres
* Greg Ayres
* J. Michael Tatum
* Richard Epcar
* Sean Schemmel
* Spike Spencer
* Trina Nishimura

Guest Artists
* Studio Capsule – Robert and Emily DeJesus

Industry Guests
* Jonathan Klein – CANCELLED
* Tom Wayland

Musical Guest
* Mari Iijima
* MC Frontalot
* Odaiko New England
* Ten

M.E.W. Con
Manga & Exotic Worlds Convention
Dec. 31, 2010 – Jan 2, 2011
Sheraton PDX Hotel
By SailorKagura

M.E.W.con, which stands for Manga & Exotic Worlds, was over the New Year’s weekend at the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Portland, OR.

The Cosplay Contest was held early the first afternoon and was ended with a promise of the winners during Opening Ceremonies. Many of the costumes were well-made and appreciated by this long-time convention attendee.

Later the same evening, Opening Ceremonies introduced the convention, explaining its 17+ rule as an excuse to not abide by rules and act like teenagers in a R-rated movie, which was specifically alluded to with a vulgar performance by two cosplayers. The aforementioned Cosplay Contest winners were never announced during, and this reporter left at the conclusion of the ceremonies, having another obligation to attend.

The main highlight–as it should have been for a convention over the New Year’s Holiday–was the evening dance and countdown to 2011. The con attendees rallied together in the small dance hall to welcome in the New Year.

Overall, M.E.W.con lacked any real semblance to a well-organized convention. There was a distinct lack of interactive events, which lead to quite a blasé impression for this reporter.

Aki-Con 2010

3:44 PM PDT on November, 14, 2010

By MICHI/ AnimeSeed.com

This was my third year attending Aki-Con and oddly enough, the first time that I attended all three days. The convention was held in Bellevue, Washington (as opposed to Everett where it had the first two years) and at the Hilton. The first floor of convention was where Main Events, the Cosplay Hall, Gaming, Artist Alley, panel rooms and the viewing rooms were located. The second floor of the hotel was where the Dealer’s Hall, and Manga Library were located. The lobby of the hotel (technically the third floor) had no events for the convention, but still a lot of people met there and where actively engaged in photo shoots there.

Day One (Friday) -

Now, I didn’t get up to the convention until about 5PM on the first day. The first thing that I did after finishing getting my costume on was head down to Pre-Registration to pick up my badge. I had my ID out and ready, as is per the usual for the conventions that I attend. There was no line, which was actually very nice, as I’ve had to stand in many lines for conventions before. When I said I was picking up my badge as press for Anime Seed, they just handed it over, didn’t even bother to check I was who I said I was. That unnerved me just a little bit.

After I got my badge, I signed up for the Costume Fashion Show with my Princess Kakyuu costume. After that, I wandered around just a bit, talking to people I know and meeting new people. Around that time, I met up with Savani, Slowmope and Elferz to get dinner at Blue C Sushi. After dinner, we went back to the convention in time so I could head to Main Events for the Costume Fashion Show. This is the first Convention Hosted event that I’ve participated in since 2006.

First thing first, there weren’t a lot of rules on Aki-Con’s website about the event, so I had no idea what to expect. I got into line for my costume to be judged and right at 9PM (when the event was set to start) they still hadn’t gotten to me, and there was a straggling of people behind me. So, we where shuffled out of sight and lined up in the hallway next to the kitchens. Not exactly the greatest thing for a costume made out of expensive fabrics.

Well, we (the contestants) where not told that we where being judged on performance, so many of us didn’t do much on stage, and that actually hurt our overall points. I was told to say my name, any name whether it be our character‘s name or our real name, and then get off stage, leave the room and if we had things in the back, return to get them. I did, and then went to sit with Savani and Elferz. While the judges (most of which I knew) where tallying the points, they put on some AMVs, most of which where pretty good.

The judges then came back out and the winners where announced. I got sixth with my Princess Kakyuu. I don’t remember who got fourth or fifth. But third with to Stendex with his Dustan from Prince of Persia. Okay, so something better than hand made metal armor had to get second or first. But, no. Second went to Red XIII from Final Fantasy VII and first went to Zoidberg from Futurama. That actually annoyed a lot of us. Even the second place winner said that judging wasn’t right.

After the end of the Costume Fashion Show, myself and Savani went and walked about the convention, having to take it slow because of the crowds and my skirts. About eleven, I headed over to the Free Stage (which is another rant all together) for Besslol’s Whose Line is It Anyway?

Now, the Free Stage was a stage that was located in the middle of the first floor of the convention, in a high traffic area. Which is a bad and dangerous idea. As it could potentially violate fire codes. And if there was an actual emergency, a lot of people could be really hurt in a rush to get to the door. Whose Line was a great success, and I participated in the event for the second convention in a row. For which I had a ton of fun once again.

After that event, Amurika, PackofChessyCats, Savani, Veraca and I headed back to where we were staying. All in all, the first day was fun, rather stressful, but very fun.

Day Two (Saturday) -

Today, the usual crew of us got to Aki-Con around noon. It was a nice change. Savani and I changed into Hiei and Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho at the convention. There was a bit of stress before getting ready, but once we did, there was a lot of positive feedback on the costumes we wore. This day, I didn’t really go to any events. As I’ve said before, I’m not much of an event person. So, Savani and I wandered around, talking with people.

There was a lot more people on this day. And a lot more of people under the age of eighteen. I guess I’ve never realized how much younger the convention crowd keeps getting over the years. When I first started attending convention in 2002, I felt that I was in the minority at thirteen. But, now being over eighteen seems to be the growing minority.

Well, around five, Savani and I changed out of Hiei and Kurama and into Treize Khushrenada and Zechs Marquise from Gundam Wing. We brought these outfits especially for the Masquerade Ball. After that, we got dinner with Amurika and PackofChessyCats. Returning to the convention, we donned our masks and walked about the convention. A lot of people really didn’t recognize the two of us, but some did.

Now, during this walking around period, Savani and I went into Main Events to check out Ichidan’s Cowboy Bebop show. Now, I’d been to Ichidan’s Ouran High School Host Club, Deathnote, and Rurouni Kenshin shows before this. Ouran was funny and kept the audience entertained. Deathnote was good until a point. I was highly disappointed in the Kenshin show, and equally so in the Bebop show. Most of the actors, I felt, where very bland and simply reciting words, while the actors for Spike and Ed actually believed what they where saying and actively got into their character. I only stayed for apart of the show because, while it had the ability to be a great show and more enjoyable than it actually was, I was still very disappointed. For the bit that I in the audience, I saw what seemed like group after group get up and actually leave in the middle of scenes.

This was one of the few times that I had been actually checked for my badge. The others included when I went into Main Events and the Dealer’s Hall. No one asked to see my badge when I was physically wandering around the convention itself, which goes against most of what I know with conventions.

The Masquerade Ball didn’t begin until 9:30, a half an hour later than it should have. It was beautifully decorated, that is actually something that Aki-Con does really well. There was a winter theme to the Masquerade and little wine glasses for the water they had. The Masquerade Ball was held in one of the panel rooms, which did not have enough room for the amount of people that wanted to attend the actual event. The actual event was not hosted in Main Events or another large room, but a panel room with very limited space once the dance floor and the “refreshments table” was put out. It was after about ten minutes that Savani and I left. It wasn’t that we didn’t enjoy the Masquerade, I actually quite like them and have been actively these types of dances since 2006, it was just too crowded and the music was blah.

It was about ten that we rounded up Amurika, PackofChessyCats and Veraca to head home, as both Savani and I where exhausted from the previous couple of days (and weeks). So, it was home that we went to pass out.

Day Three (Sunday) -

Today we got up to the convention around noon once again. Savani and I changed into Hiei and Kurama once more, simply for Yu Yu Hakusho photoshoot at 3PM. Which turned out to be a bust, as people who said they where coming didn‘t and the only other person who did show up was in a costume that left a lot to be desired for the both of us who are very large Yu Yu Hakusho fans. After that, we both changed into our civvies (normal street clothes).

From there, Savani took both Amurika and PackofChessyCats back to their apartment before heading back up to the convention. During that time, I went around the convention, talking to my friends and taking pictures. The only reason that Savani and I ended up sticking around after she got back for Slowmope, Elferz, Veraca and I was because of Closing Ceremonies. Honestly, I haven’t gone to a Closing Ceremony since… Actually, I do not believe I have ever gone to a Closing Ceremony for a convention.

Before Closing Ceremonies began, we where shown the top five AMVs from the contest. The first four where amazing and we were expecting something thrilling for the top AMV. But, what we got was Be Our Guest set to Ouran High School Host Club. It looked as if a teenager made it and guess what, one did. Savani was sitting right next to me and she was quite disappointed in the whole situation. She noted that upon looking around the Main Events hall, that all the older fans where positively bored with what was being shown, and all the younger fans where ecstatic.

Closing Ceremonies continued an ongoing theme of Harry Potter that had run through the whole con. While admittedly nerdy, Harry Potter has nothing to do with anime, and left a lot of attendees out of the loop and unable to participate in convention events centering on said fandom.

Closing Ceremonies was, in my opinion, very bland. There wasn’t really a lot of excitement. It felt like the MC’s (the con chairman and her sister) where talking to a crowd of businessmen. The two MCs pretty much stood in the same place on stage while having the volunteers (the people who worked for the convention) bring things out to them, and having the various winners come up on stage. The nice thing was that Closing Ceremonies only lasted eight minutes longer than it should have. After it ended, Savani, Slowmope, Elferz, Veraca and I left. To venture back south and await another year.

Overall -

Aki-Con is a third year convention. It is small and still has a lot to learn. I’ll continue attending Aki-Con simply because it’s a good BroCon. It’s good to hang out, test out new costumes for larger conventions and see people. There have been a lot of people “white knighting” for Aki-Con, saying it’s the best convention evar and that when people say anything negative against it, they get all defensive about it.

Aki-Con, as I’ve stated, isn’t the best convention ever. I’ve been attending conventions for ten years, and a lot of conventions have had their high points and their low points. Just because a convention is small and you can get away with a lot that you can’t normally get away with at larger conventions, isn’t a reason to jump to its defense.

I said I’m going to continue attending Aki-Con. But, I don’t know how readily I would be willing to give money to them. Aki-Con is a for-profit convention with a volunteer staff. So, Aki-Con, like all the other conventions I’ve been to over the past ten years, it had it’s high points and low points. Great people and not so great people. Aki-Con is young and still has a lot to learn, and I am curious about their future, to me, it was just a bro con. A convention to chill at. And if you really let drama ruin this awesome BroCon, you where doing something terribly wrong.

Yaoi Con 2010
October 29th – 31st, 2010
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport

This anime convention is rated 18+, as per California penal code section 313-313.5313. The con has some very strict rules, and code of conduct. There is zero tolerance for violations. Which is good. It keeps the children OUT. ^_^

I arrived a day in advance in hopes of seeing a bit of San Francisco. Unfortunately, the convention site was further away than I realized, and didn’t get to see the city. There were a lot of local attractions, but none of the action really started until the convention itself started.

The line to get a badge, in spite of not having pre-registered, was VERY short. This could be because I was there early, or good planning on their part. From everything I saw, compared to other anime conventions, it was just good planning. They were very organized, and everyone seemed to be on the same page. Even if that page was “Oh, I don’t’ know, go talk to THIS person!” Everyone was agreed on who WOULD know.

Friday morning, before the convention started, there was an open ‘Swap Meet’ where both fans and some artists had their work on display, for trade and for sale. There were some REALLY good steals in there, as well as items for sale for fans, and charity alike. One man was selling calenders to help fund raise for aids research, where in the same room Hamlet Machine was showing off her wonderful yaoi webcomic.

The Carnival was also open on Friday, pre-con, where you could buy a game card, and win tickets for prizes. Of course, this being the convention it was, it was not just any carnival, but one where you were ‘distracted’ by the men working there. The ring toss was amusing, to say the least.

Friday evening was Opening Ceremonies, where famous mangaka Hinako Takanaga(Bukiyou na Silent, Challengers, Love Round, The Tyrant Falls in Love, Little Butterfly) was introduced, along with seiyuu(voice actors) Hidenobu Kiuchi(Ruroni Kenshin, Monster, Darker than Black, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, and Prince of Tennis) and Ryoutarou Okiayu(FullMetal Alchemist, Bleack, Prince of Tennis, Fruits Basket, Gundam Wing, Kizuma, Gravatation, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel).

Following opening ceremonies was ‘Bishie Bingo’, where attendees could purchase a bingo card, and play. There were many prizes available, not to mention they could select one of the ‘bishies’ on display to remove an article of clothing. Within reason, of course.

The dealers room was a little crowded, but there were a lot of different booths so finding something you’d like was easy. I never managed to make it to the manga library or the game room, there was just too much to do.

Saturday, the anime music video contest was amazing. I found myself literally laughing out loud, and crying, by turn. The AMV’s I at first thought would be horribly annoying made me smile, and the ones I thought were boring brought me to tears. Overall, it was a very well put on show, and congratulations to those who participated.

That night was the Rocky Horror Picture Show, presented on screen, and performed live. There was lots of audience participation, pulling everyone who hadn’t gone to a public showing before on stage. These were the ‘virgins’ of the night, as designated by the giant ‘V’s drawn on their faces with lipstick. If you lucked out, you got the lipstick without the lip stain!

The show was very nice. What I remember of it. There was a lot of orange juice being shared that night. Lots of new friends made. The cast even had an ‘after party’ for those they made friends with. The after party went until approximately 6am.

Sunday morning there was a Bishie Brunch, where you could be served and waited on by the bishies. Most shared a table with those they didn’t know, but it wasn’t long before friends were made. After all, you know you already have something in common!

Closing Ceremonies was sweet, with last minute raffle that turned into more than a minute. Also, the last few items from the art auction where sold off, for a much larger profit than they would otherwise have been. The convention ended on a very good note, and was very enjoyable.

In spite of the fact that I lost a purse, with approx. 80$, and a bag with souvenirs/a t-shirt, I plan on going back to this convention. The lost items were my own fault, and really, the rest of the convention was still so fun that I don’t even feel bad about it. As far as I am concerned, this convention is worth the money, worth the trip, and definitely worth going to again.

Y-Con’s main site.